The Valley Today

The conversation today with Kaycee Childress, CEO, and Jennifer Hall, Sr. Director of Community Investment of United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley featured a discussion about the ALICE (Asset Limited. Income Constrained. Employed) report, with Jennifer providing details about its origins and scope. The ALICE report , which started in Virginia in 2017, has become a statewide initiative and expande...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis , Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College welcomed Katherine Werner, a content and digital marketing specialist at Laurel Ridge Community College. Katherine shared her personal story as a transfer student from Laurel Ridge, emphasizing the pivotal role the college played in her academic and career success. The discussion highlighted the benef...

Our conversation today with Kit Redmer, Communications Director for the City of Winchester included Kenny Johnson, the city's Transportation Operations Manager to give details about WinReady , a microtransit system being rolled out this coming spring. WinReady is a new initiative that is expected to have a significant positive impact on public transit users, particularly students and families, acr...

Our conversation today for Tourism Tuesday with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism featured Vicki Ruckman, Secretary and Event Coordinator for the Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail, and Ashley Proctor, Director of Events and Group Sales for Shenandoah Caverns. Vicki gave us some background for The Shenandoah Cup and explained how the judging works and what attendees can expect at the event on Fri...

Our conversation today with Cori Pence, Communications Specialist with Northwestern Community Services Board Prevention & Wellness Services is part of a year-long partnership with Northwestern Community Services Board highlighting eight different dimensions of wellness. Their "Rooted in" campaign is in its third year with 2023's message: Rooted in Wellness . They encourage community members to get...

We recorded today's episode at The Hideaway Cafe with guest host Olivia Hilton to go behind the mic for my 2000th consecutive episode. Olivia asked questions about how guests are chosen, what kind of time goes into editing the show for air, and several other questions that I'm often asked about the show.  Join us tonight as we celebrate: https://www.facebook.com/events/24067413979573764/  

Our conversation for Traffic Safety Thursday with Lt. Warren Gosnell from  Frederick County Sheriff's Office covered several topics including state inspections, humanizing the badge, and even a few listener questions.

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce gave us details for several chamber & community events happening in the coming weeks.  We talked about the kickoff of the latest leadership class and learned about two new businesses that will host a ribbon cutting. Blue Ridge Arts Council has opened its workshop to prep for Deck the...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Winchester/Frederick County edition - with Justin Kerns from  Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau was FULL of things to do in the coming weeks.  We discussed: Winchester Little Theatre performs The Humans from November 10-25, 2023. The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (The MSV) will feature Garden Lights from November 16 through December 3...

Our conversation today with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner is part of an ongoing series following the work on Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive plan. The planning process will unfold over the course of four years with the majority of the community collaboration occurring from 2020-2022, with input in 2023-2024. Joining Tyler & I today was McKenzie Allen, an associate p...

Our conversation for United Way Day featured United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley 's CEO, Kaycee Childress and Dr. Yolanda Barbier Gibson , VP for Student Affairs at Shenandoah University and this year's Campaign Chair, to discuss the annual campaign . The theme for this year's campaign is "Be the Change. Empowering with Passion to make the Impossible Happen." The pair explained how the campaign...

Our conversation today at the Espresso Bar & Cafe with Eve Stanley, Founder and Artistic Director of ARTEINMOVIMENTO Dance Company gave details for how her nonprofit started and where she hopes it will grow. Joining us were two of her dancers, Becca Hopkins & Lainey Griffin who both shared their experiences working with Eve, their plans for the future, and talked about their excitement for their u...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Cynthia Schneider, CEO of Top of Virginia Regional Chamber and her guest, Scott Harvard, CEO of First Bank . The pair gave details for the chamber's Economic Summit happening on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 8:30am - 12pm at Shenandoah University. The Economic Summit gives the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber members a chance to forecast...

Our conversation today with Victoria Kidd Armstrong at The Hideaway Cafe gave us a bit of insight into the community she's created around her business. We talked about their coffees, of course, but also their full bar menu with an award-winning bartender that was added in recent years. She gave details about several upcoming events and explained that post-pandemic they will be offering even more f...

Our conversation today featured Justin Proctor and Mike Shotton, committee members representing ACES - Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability for the Town of Front Royal. Mike gave a bit of history for the group and talked about their goals. Justin explained that small, individual changes can have a significant impact on our environment. The pair gave details about several upcoming ev...

Our conversation today for Extension Office Friday featured 4-H Extension Agents from three of our surrounding counties discussing the uniqueness of each county's program and the importance of addressing community needs. The group discussed the diverse opportunities available through 4-H and stressed that 4-H is not strictly focused on livestock, but offers a range of activities including leadersh...

As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , we talked with Dr. Jim VanKirk , a board-certified palliative care specialist and Medical Director of Valley Health's palliative care program . Dr. VanKirk explained the role of palliative medicine, which is to work with patients with serious (possibly life-threatening) illnesses and help alleviate burdensome symptoms, while the pati...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Scott Fink, owner of 5-Star Executive Chauffeuring, and Michael Williams, President of Rotary Club of Warren County . Scott and Michael became friends through operating similar businesses, and Michael recently partnered with Scott for an event Rotary was hosting. Scott gave us a bit of background on how his business started and how much it's...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce took us to Pretty on Y'all to meet owner, Catalina Cenchich. Catalina told us how she and her mother moved their business from Pittsburgh to Luray and their lifelong love of all things artistic. We talked about the many, many options that people of all ages have when they come to the...

Our conversation today with Captain Ann Hawk from the Front Royal Corps of Salvation Army included many details about their Angel Tree program, their Red Kettle Kickoff plans, and their upcoming Thanksgiving Meal. Capt. Hawk explained that they are currently accepting applications from families to participate in their Angel Tree program. She told us about the requirements and we spent time talking...

There were newbies on the show today to talk about Frederick County Public School 's FFA Fruit & Meat Sale. Pre-orders are currently being taken until October 27 with pickup at various schools on December 3-4, 2023. Joining me for the conversation with all the details were: Devon Smith, an Ag teacher at Millbrook High School, Caroline Fox, a sophomore at Millbrook High School , Braelyn Durbin, a s...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis , Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College gave details about the new Fauquier Trades Center set to open in a few months on their Fauquier campus. Joining us to talk about their trades programs were Donna Comer who serves as a Program Manager at  Laurel Ridge Workforce Solutions and  Fauquier County Economic Development Coordinator, plus AnnaJ...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce featured Justin Horn, Executive Director for Page One of Page County . Justin explained the services they offer, the history of the organization, and the other nonprofits that have spawned from Page One. He talked about the huge need within Page County. He encouraged...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Old Town Winchester edition - featured Jenny McDonald from the City of Winchester to talk about several events happening in October, November, and December. Jenny filled us in on HalloWinchester and talked about how many things there are to do for visitors of any age. We discussed First Friday happening on November 3, 2023, and Día de los Muertos also happeni...

Our conversation today with Stacy McFarland, Executive Director for the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was FULL of information. Stacy educated us on several different programs and services offered by her organization and explained her chapter's coverage area: Washington County, MD, the five counties in the Eastern Panhandle of WV, and all of the top of Virginia includi...